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Green Party, VOICE at Odds on Affordable Housing — Two groups that both support more affordable housing in Arlington, the Arlington Green Party and Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE), are seemingly at odds over the means to that end. VOICE didn’t support the Green Party’s housing authority referendum, and now the Green Party is blasting VOICE because the group “prefers, apparently, to work closely with the Democratic ruling party behind closed doors and support a dysfunctional housing-assistance program.” [Sun Gazette]

New Year’s Eve Events — If you’re still trying to decide where to celebrate the arrival of 2014 in Arlington, our New Year’s Eve guide has 10 ideas for you.


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Audrey Clement, running for the County Board for the fourth straight election, lost to incumbent Democrat Jay Fisette, 66 to 31 percent. She was actually encouraged by the results, but said the 30 percent range appears to be a Green Party candidate’s best possible result.

“In our best races we seem to be hitting up against a glass ceiling of 30 percent,” she said at the Green Party’s election gathering at Westover Beer Garden. “It seems we can’t break that ceiling. I think we will when the county breaks the budget.”


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By statute, the Board must approve the referendum if 2 percent of the county’s qualified voters sign a petition. After a six-month campaign championed by the Arlington Green Party, the petition to create the authority got the necessary 2,845 signatures in June.

Approval is scheduled for the Board’s Tuesday meeting, its last meeting until September. The Board must approve the measure before it goes on its summer recess in order to meet the state-mandated deadline of August 16.


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The referendum will ask Arlington voters to authorize the operation of a low income housing authority, similar to those in more than 25 cities and counties around the state including Alexandria and Fairfax County. The Arlington Green Party (AGP) spearheaded the signature gathering efforts.

“Arlington’s current housing assistance program has failed to stop the loss of affordable housing, and a housing authority would raise funds more easily, lower administrative costs, and provide more affordable rental units,” said AGP chairman Steve Davis. “Arlington should follow Fairfax’s County’s outstanding example with a housing authority that provides more affordable housing to more people at less cost.”


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Trash Collection Canceled — Trash collection in Arlington has been canceled today due to the snow storm. Trash collection is currently expected to resume tomorrow, with collection delayed one day for the rest of the week (Wednesday customers’ trash being collected on Thursday, etc.). “Please do not put your trash or recycling on the curb this Wednesday,” said the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services. “Wednesday collection routes are in the hilliest parts of the County and expose the collection crews and the public to the greatest safety risks in a snow event.”

School Boundary Meeting Canceled — A school boundary meeting scheduled for today has been canceled. Instead, Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy will be holding a boundary town hall meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 11, at Williamsburg Middle School. APS, meanwhile, has made some minor tweaks to its boundary change plan, after hearing critical feedback from parents. [Arlington Public Schools, Patch]


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Green Party Outperforms Past Results — By pulling in 12.4 percent of the vote for County Board, Green Party candidate Audrey Clement roughly doubled the percentage of the vote Green candidates have typically received during past County Board races. The question now is can the Greens get that percentage even higher next time by better identifying who is voting for the party’s candidates? [Sun Gazette]

Miss Saigon Coming to Signature Theater — Signature Theater has secured the rights to the well known musical Miss Saigon, and will open its 2013-2014 season with a version of the production. It will be the first time a theater company in the D.C. area has taken on the show in 15 years. [Variety]


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Greens Vote ‘No’ on Park Bond — The Arlington Green Party has joined the Arlington County Republican Committee in opposing the $50.5 million park bond that’s on the Nov. 6 ballot. The bond would largely help fund a new Long Bridge Park aquatics center. The Greens said the aquatics center is “wasteful” and a “vanity project.” The Greens stayed neutral on the $42.6 million school bond, with some members criticizing the plan to build two new elementary schools because it is “too costly and eliminates green space and recreation fields.” [Arlington Mercury]

APS Enrollment on the Rise — Enrollment at Arlington Public Schools is up 3.7 percent versus one year ago. The growth — mostly at the elementary school level and mostly in North Arlington — is in line with school administrators’ projections. There are now 22,657 pre-K to 12th grade students enrolled at Arlington’s public schools. [Sun Gazette]


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Water Main Break in Fairlington — A large water main break shut down the intersection of 31st and S. Abingdon Streets in Fairlington last night. [WUSA 9]

Joe Paterno Hires Clarendon Firm — Before he was fired by university trustees last night, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno hired Clarendon-based TMG Strategies to handle media inquiries. TMG specializes in crisis communications. [Washington Business Journal]


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A few dozen die-hard Republicans turned out at Hard Times Cafe in Clarendon for an Arlington County Republican Committee victory party that, in the end, had few victories to celebrate. State Senate candidate Patrick Forrest briefly mingled with the crowd early in the night. He was full of optimism, even as returns showed him steadily behind incumbent Democrat Janet Howell.

“It has been a hard, uphill slog,” Forrest said. “But keep your fingers crossed.”


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“I do plan to run for County Board as a Green,” said Audrey Clement, a state Green Party officer and a national Green Party committee member. “However, I have not yet set up a campaign committee and filed my paperwork with [State Board of Election]. So I am not officially a candidate [yet].”

Clement’s campaign platform focuses on spending, housing and environmental concerns. On her web site, Clement says she wants to “focus funds on essential community services” like libraries, public safety, schools and the safety net, while “halt[ing] spending on wasteful building projects that we cannot afford” like the Columbia Pike streetcar and the Long Bridge Park aquatic center. She also criticizes the use of county funds for the Artisphere.


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